Vintage Crossbow, Homemade (Popular mechanics, 1944)

Описание: I built this crossbow following the building instructions/blueprints from a 1944 Popular Mechanics magazine. You can download the instructions here: http://www.vintageprojects.com/archer...

The bow was made out of a 5 mm thick steel leaf spring, and has a draw weight of 180+ kg (400+ lbs). The bow string was made using Dacron fishing line, and the stock was cut and shaped from laminated plywood sheets, with aluminium tracks to protect the string.

After shooting with the crossbow for a while, I made the two steel side plates holding the release larger, as cracks started appearing at the bottom of the stock where the trigger is located. The pressure faces of the trigger and release should be lubricated with a graphite & grease mixture, without lubrication it is almost impossible to pull the trigger due to the large draw weight of the bow.

I made the arrows myself using broken carbon fiber arrows that I got for free from fellow archers. Each arrow weighs 480 grains (31 grams) and travels at a speed of 220 ft/sec which means each arrow has 51 foot-pounds or 70 Joules of energy.

I have successfully hunted with the crossbow, but mainly use it for target shooting.